Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ The wicked are not so,
But they are like ^(K)chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore ^(L)the wicked will not rise in the ^(M)judgment,
Nor sinners in ^(N)the congregation of the righteous.
⁶ For Yahweh ^[e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of ^(P)the wicked will perish.

¹⁸ There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:
¹⁹ The way of an ^(A)eagle in the sky,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
And the way of a man with a virgin.
²⁰ This is the way of an ^(B)adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”

²¹ Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four, it cannot bear up:
²² Under a ^(C)slave when he becomes king,
And a wicked fool when he is satisfied with food,
²³ Under ^[a]an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a servant-girl when she supplants her mistress.

²⁴ Four things are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
²⁵ The ^(D)ants are not a strong people,
But they prepare their food in the summer;
²⁶ The ^[b](E)shephanim are not a mighty people,
Yet they make their houses in the cliff;
²⁷ The locusts have no king,
Yet all of them go out in ^(F)rank;
²⁸ The lizard you may grasp with the hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹ There are three things which are stately in their march,
Even four which are stately when they walk:
³⁰ The lion which is ^(G)mighty among the animals
And does not ^(H)turn back before any,
³¹ The ^[c]strutting rooster, the male goat also,
And a king when his army is with him.

³² If you have been wickedly foolish in lifting yourself up,
Or if you have schemed evil, ^(I)put your hand on your mouth.
³³ For pressing milk brings forth butter,
And pressing the nose brings forth blood;
And pressing ^(J)anger brings forth strife.